the BLOG

Look at the difference between these photos – obviously the one that’s been “shopped” is more exciting cause otherwise you got a guy standing there in a stupid suit. Like the picture of MR. HAMBURGER from NASAL CREATURES FROM TRENTON All that picture needs is some smoke and glitz. Damn. In this case the guy […]

That’s the real name of Godzilla and if you’ve only ever seen the American version with Raymond Burr clumsily added to make the film palatable to western eyes — well it’s a bit like seeing Hamlet performed on a subway – you miss the whole point. It’s quite a spectacular film with moral choices. I […]

This is a film can. You don’t see them around much anymore. What fascinates me is its provenance – Laboratoires Cinematographique was one of the major French film laboratories located just outside of Paris. Opened in 1908 the first films by the Eclair company, the third major French studio after Gaumont and Pathe, were shot […]

You think this movie’s as good as this image? Probably not. Movies exist in time, not space – you have to sit through one. It’s the difference between Tolstoy and a STOP sign. One unfolds (magnificently) the other is an image designed to communicate instantly. Now I could spend, maybe not hours, but a long […]

RETURN OF THE APEMAN – Why would he come back? Where did he go in the first place? We know that Lugosi was by this stage in his career accepting any parts just to feed his drug habit. Lugosi played the Dr. then you had John Carradine and George Zucco as the Ape man. Apparently […]

Why? Because it doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t matter if itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a film a book or a loaf of bread Ã¢â‚¬â€œ when somethingÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s imbued with its creatorÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s voice thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s when it has soul. Since I work almost entirely in a documentary format there are two things that represent my voice: what I write and what I use. To find […]

When I started as a film editor at 60 MINUTES, my father, who’d never been quite sure what I did for a living, was trying to explain to friends that I was anÃ‚Â editor whichÃ‚Â ” uuhh means I guess you cut out the bad parts isn’t that it?” I said, “No, Dad, I select the best […]

How Come Our Kids Can’t Read? In a digital age, literacy rates in this country are measured according to what children can read and write IN A BOOK. But what about how they can read and write images? Most of the information childrenÃ‚Â (and for that matter most adults) receive comes from images: TV, magazines, […]

Alfred Hitchcock In the late 1950’s early ’60’s a group of French film critics, notably Godard and Truffaut argued that the works of better directors displayed themes that ran through all their works.The cause was Taken up in this country by Andrew Sarris. It became known as the “auteur” theory; in other words even though […]